End of rehab road leads to major leagues for Williams

The Milwaukee Brewers wasted no time making their Sept. 1 callups Friday, and there was one surprising name on the list.

Right-hander Taylor Williams, who is in his first season back after missing two full years recovering from Tommy John surgery, headlined the five-player group that joined the major-league club.

Williams was recalled from Class AA Biloxi, with outfielder Brett Phillips and pitchers Brandon Woodruff, Junior Guerra and Wei-Chung Wang arriving from Class AAA Colorado Springs.

Additionally, the Brewers reinstated left-hander Brent Suter and catcher Andrew Susac from the 10-day disabled list.

Williams, 26, will be making his major-league debut whenever he makes his first appearance out of the Brewers’ bullpen. A fourth-round pick in 2013 out of Kent State, Williams was 0-2 with a 3.09 earned-run average and WHIP of 1.35 in 22 appearances (14 starts) for the Shuckers this season.

He also struck out 57 in 462⁄3 innings.

“It’s been an up-anddown last few years but I don’t really regret anything or look back,” said Williams, who also made a point to publicly thank the members of the Brewers’ medical staff who helped him rehab and return from his two-year ordeal.

“Missing two seasons doesn’t disappoint me because it was a good opportunity for me to grow on the field, off the field. I really feel like it’s made me a better baseball player and a better person. A lot of that is a credit to taking it day by day.

“I was fortunate to be surrounded by a lot of great people.”

Williams had been starting games through mid-July, throwing as many as 65 pitches in an outing before a brief stint on the disabled list. When he returned he pitched solely out of the bullpen, not allowing a run in his six appearances.

“Once he came back from the DL, the thought process was, ‘Let’s look at him in shorter stints and see how he does, see how he recovers,’ and he seemed to take to that role,” Brewers general manager David Stearns said.

“In terms of what the long-term vision is, we don’t have to decide that right now. Right now he clearly fits the majorleague team best in the bullpen, and that’s what we’re going to roll with.

“In terms of how he comes to spring training, we’ll think about that over the off-season.”

All the rest of the Brewers’ callups have made appearances in the majors this season, with the left-hander Wang’s being the most brief – two pitches in one outing.

Guerra was Milwaukee’s opening-day starter and in the rotation until his struggles led him to being optioned out July 30. He went 2-1 with a 1.45 ERA in five starts for the Sky Sox, striking out 14 and walking 10.

“He threw the ball well,” said Stearns of Guerra’s performance after his demotion.

“In especially the last couple of outings, he seemed to regain that fastball command that had eluded him during parts of the season here. The splitter was a quality pitch. So we’re happy to have him back.

“We know what Junior can do when he’s right. We’ve seen it. He’s a very talented pitcher and he’s pitched some very big games for us. So having him as an option for us going forward is a luxury for us.”

Woodruff is 1-1 with a 1.62 ERA in three starts for the Brewers and will start Saturday against the Washington Nationals.

Phillips, the likely choice as the Brewers’ minor-league player of the year, is in his fourth stint with the major-league team this season. He hit .305 with 19 home runs and 78 runs batted in over 105 games with the Sky Sox, and .229 with four homers and four RBI in 15 games with the Brewers.

Suter – who could earn a starting assignment Sunday – and Susac both completed minor-league rehab stints with the Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers earlier this week.

Susac’s addition is important with starting catcher Manny Piña dealing with a hip injury.